Some of us like working from home, others like having a place to go. Some like the option to do both. If you still primarily work from home, you must optimize your work environment so you can feel good and put out your best work. Just like working in a messy room negatively affects your mentality and work output, dressing like a slob all day will not create the best version of yourself. But you also don’t need to wear business casual attire if you’re at home all day – that’s a bit too stuffy. You still want the comfort of being at home. We’ll help you find a sweet spot by exploring the best work from home clothes for men.
What to avoid wearing
We’ve all been there. Wake up ten minutes before you’re supposed to be “at work”, throw on some sweats (or PJs), get some coffee, and open up the laptop. You tell yourself you’ll change into something more respectable later. Just before lunchtime you have a quick zoom meeting, so you throw on a shirt with no visible stains, take the meeting, and go on with the rest of your day wearing your sweatpants and not too dirty shirt.
You workout (hopefully), make some dinner, take a shower, then end your day watching Netflix in some other form of sweats or PJs. Not once did you wear a respectable piece of attire. Too many days like this, and you start to lower your own standards and feel like the slob you are becoming.
Luckily, you can easily break this cycle. It starts with setting a minimal standard for your appearance. This requires you to ditch certain items during your WFH hours.
Obviously anything that has visible stains or noticeable odors goes straight to the washer. You should also avoid anything with holes or rips, even if they’re not visible on a zoom call.
If you want to raise your standards beyond these two minimum requirements, stop wearing hoodies, pajama bottoms, slouchy sweatpants, athletic shorts, and graphic t-shirts during WFH hours. None of these items come off as professional. Even if the people on the other side of the screen can’t see your pajama bottoms, the lower standards will affect you negatively.
I understand these clothes are the most “comfortable,” but you can balance comfort with professionalism and self-respect to create a serious atmosphere to advance your career.
Alternatives
Fortunately, you can meet this minimal standard while maintaining the comfort of home. We’ll start at the bottom and work our way up.
Footwear
Assuming you’re inside most of the day, barefoot is fine. If your feet run cold, clean, matching socks without any holes will suffice. You should upgrade to a decent pair of house slippers if you live somewhere cold or if you like having toasty feet.
Make sure you can easily transition to a walk. If you are at home all day, it is imperative that you take at least one walking break per day for your mental health.
Pants
This clothing item makes the biggest difference in your personal work from home standards. Too many people get caught up in wearing dingy old sweatpants or pajama bottoms all day. We’ll go through some upgrades that will make you look and feel better about yourself, without sacrificing comfort.
One good outcome from the pandemic was the development of many types of respectable work from home pants. These will often maintain the stretch and softness of athletic pants, with the look and cut of actual pants.
First we’ll look at joggers. These are the most casual of the respectable WFH pant styles. Usually sporting an elastic waistband and elastic ankles, these feel like athletic pants with a sleeker cut, so they give your legs more shape. Joggers look better than your saggy old sweatpants, and you feel more put together when wearing them without sacrificing much, if any, comfort. These can also pull duty running errands during the week or weekend, grabbing a quick coffee, or going on a hike or light workout.
Next, you have hybrid joggers/pants. These are typically cut like pants but have an elastic waistband, and the bottoms are usually open and fitted (chino cloth ones may have elastic cuffs). The cloth can vary from tech/athletic fabric to chino fabric (usually stretchy). These are my personal favorite, as they hit the sweet spot between comfort and feeling somewhat dressed up (without being too stuffy). And you can wear these on the weekends to run errands or even for a casual lunch, for instance.
Otherwise, you can certainly wear your normal jeans and chinos to feel like less of a slob. It’s the easiest quick upgrade you can make. These in-between options above, however, have a little extra comfort for around the house.
Shirts
You likely already have all the shirts you need for a respectable work from home wardrobe. You just need to ditch your overly-casual shirts for something more professional. This swap will easily upgrade your work from home clothes for men.
If your workplace leans more casual, stick with plain, clean t-shirts. I know we all have attachments to certain t-shirts, but as a grown-up professional, you should save these for nighttime wear or specific gatherings. And please, don’t wear anything with “funny” phrases or remarks. It’s not a good look in a professional or any other situation as a grown man.
You can get some good looking, inexpensive t-shirts pretty easily. Or you can invest in a couple nicer t-shirts. Either way, you can wear these in casual situations too – with jeans or chinos on the weekend to handle your errands and friendly get-togethers. And don’t be afraid to throw in some bolder colors that work well with your skin tone.
Polos are a very easy upgrade that will add a slightly more professional look to your WFH attire. Most are also just as comfortable as a t-shirt, especially the options below. These can easily pair with any of the jogger or hybrid jogger pants for a comfortable yet polished appearance. I would strongly recommend sporting at least a polo, even if the expectation at your workplace is very casual, for video meetings. It’s such an easy upgrade with almost zero downside.
If your workplace has a higher standard for WFH dress, for whatever reason, you can throw a casual button down on top of your joggers or hybrid joggers. Some clothing brands even make button downs in jersey or stretchy moisture-wicking fabric, which will give you the appearance you need with all the comfort of a workout shirt.
Sweatshirts/Sweaters
Throwing on a hoodie is an easy solution, right? Even with a clean hoodie (or your company’s logo hoodie), this piece of attire can come off a little juvenile as well. It’s easier to be taken seriously with a slightly more mature look. The alternatives we mention will clean up your work from home clothes for men.
The easy upgrade is a simple, clean crewneck sweatshirt. Even in a very casual work environment, wearing something simple and intentional like this will set you apart in a good way. You sacrifice zero comfort and look a little more serious. Great tradeoff.
If you want to take it up a notch, plain merino crewneck sweaters work well. As do chunkier knits. Both provide good options if you run cold.
As you can see from the photos above, a small upgrade from your hoodies can look so much cleaner and more professional. Some alternative options are slimmer cardigans, chunky cardigans, zip sweaters, or a puffer vest. Each are good options if your temperature varies a lot throughout the day, or if the weather is cool and you transition inside to outside often.
Conclusion
You don’t have to live in an endless cycle of slobbishness if you work from home. A few simple upgrades to your work from home clothes for men will elevate your style and self-respect, while maintaining the comfort you’ve come to expect while at home.